ABSTRACT

This chapter presents the clinical approach to specific parasitic infections is considered in groups according to their normal modes of acquisition. Some organisms can utilize a variety of routes; for instance, sparganosis may result from ingesting plerocercoids in undercooked meat, poultry, or fish, from drinking water that harbors infected copepods, or from topically applying raw animal tissues. As medical management includes first establishing a diagnosis, salient points in the history and clinical presentation are outlined that may help in this regard. Once infected, most people continue to harbor latent tissue cysts and remain seropositive for toxoplasmosis for life. While undercooked pork is the usual source, human trichinellosis has followed the ingestion of meat from a wide range of animals, including warthog, bear, walrus, and horse. Tapeworms of the genus Spirometra are widespread through most temperate and tropical regions of the world, and it is their plerocercoid stages that cause sparganosis.